Pressure
by Return of Yagami Iori
Summary: Another repost *see my other fics* This is a songfic from Dona's POV.


Pressure  
  
By Yagami Iori  
  
Disclaimer: Dona, Barthello, and all other characters, places, and objects related to Final Fantasy X belong to Squaresoft Electronic Arts. "Pressure" is copyright Billy Joel and probably some other people. Dona's childhood and family are of my own imagining, but she strikes me as the type of person who had a tough childhood.  
  
Summary: *SPOILERS for up until the Al Bhed Home* After Tidus saves Dona from the crumbling Al Bhed Home, she broods on the airship. Basically a character sketch. This is my first songfic, my first ff.net post, and the first time I've done a female POV. Please R/R.  
  
NOTE: *thinking*  
  
You have to learn to pace yourself  
  
Pressure  
  
You're just like everybody else  
  
Pressure  
  
You've only had to run so far  
  
So good  
  
But you will come to a place  
  
Where the only thing you feel  
  
Are loaded guns in your face  
  
And you'll have to deal with  
  
Pressure  
  
Ever since I was a girl, I dreamed of becoming a summoner. Now, I wonder if it was worth it. I pursued my training as a summoner to impress my father. He never payed much attention to me as a child. He wanted a son. When Suku was born, as far as my father was concerned I didn't exist. As a teenager, Suku showed incredible blitzball talent, and was the youngest player ever to be signed by the Kilika Beasts. He became a star. I became a nuisance.  
  
That's when I left on my pilgrimage. I scraped together some Gil working at the item shop, bought a staff, and left for Besaid. I couldn't afford a guardian. In Besaid, I was in the mountains when I was attacked by a garuda. I had no Aeons, and only a Cure spell where magic was concerned. I was in deep trouble.  
  
You used to call me paranoid  
  
Pressure  
  
But even you can not avoid  
  
Pressure  
  
You turned the tap dance into your crusade  
  
Now here you are with your faith  
  
And your Peter Pan advice  
  
You have no scars on your face  
  
And you cannot handle pressure  
  
  
  
I was ready to die. But death did not come. Instead, the garuda shrieked in pain. I opened my eyes to see a man attacking the fiend. When the bird fell over dead, the man ran to my aid. "You're hurt," he remarked. He reached into his pocket, and procured a Hi-Potion. When I was healed, he laid me down on a blanket.  
  
"Thank you," I mumbled. "Mr..."  
  
"Barthello," he replied. "Don't talk now. You need to rest. I'll take you into the village."  
  
When I woke, I was in the lodge of the Crusaders. Barthello was at my bedside. "Good. You're awake. I still don't know your name." He smiled at me.  
  
"I'm Dona," I told him. I quickly got out of the bed, relieved to find that I was still in my clothes. Before I turned to go, I looked back at him. "Thank you," I said. I went to the Cloister of Trials alone. When I reached the Chamber of the Fayth, I prayed for hours. Finally, the Fayth sang to me.  
  
All grown up and no place to go  
  
Psych 1, Psych 2  
  
What do you know?  
  
All your life is Channel 13  
  
Sesame Street  
  
What does it mean?  
  
Pressure  
  
Pressure  
  
Don't ask for help  
  
You're all alone  
  
Pressure  
  
You'll have to answer  
  
To your own  
  
Pressure  
  
I was finally a summoner. Maybe my father would be proud of me now. I boarded the S.S. Liki alone. I hoped to leave Besaid without trouble. But then I heard the captain shout my name. I walked to the bridge to find Barthello there, waiting for me.  
  
"I couldn't let you go unprotected," he smiled. "I'm a guardian, but I work for free." I was ecstatic. What would my father say now?  
  
We left for our cabin, and enjoyed about five minutes of sleep. The boat was shaking. I dashed to the window to see what was going on. A giant fin was protruding out of the water, harpooned by the ship. *Sin!* I was going to summon, but I saw another summoner's Valefor attack Sin. *They can do it* I thought. I remained at the window, watching the battle's end. The other summoner had forced Sin away. Straight toward Kilika.  
  
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale  
  
But here you are in the ninth  
  
Two men out and three men onNowhere to look but inside  
  
Where we all respond to  
  
Pressure  
  
Pressure  
  
When Barthello and I alighted from the ship, I could not believe my eyes. Everything I had known as a child was demolished. Struggling not to cry, I ran all the way down the trail to the temple. The temple precipice was intact, and from there I watched the Sending. That was where Barthello found me. Not speaking, we entered the temple. I wanted to pray to the Fayth to soothe my tortured heart. When I left the chamber with my new Aeon, I bumped right into her. The other summoner from the S.S. Liki.  
  
I confronted the woman. How could High Summoner Braska's daughter have driven Sin into my village?! While her friend waited behind, she and her guardians entered the Cloister of Trials. I whispered something into Barthello's ear. He nodded. Barthello picked up the summoner's friend and cast him into the Cloister of Trials. I wanted the summoner who killed my family to suffer. If her friend was caught in the Cloister of Trials, she would be excommunicated from Yevon.  
  
All your life is Time Magazine  
  
I read it too  
  
What does it mean?  
  
Pressure  
  
Now I sit, crying. I'm in an airship. A summoner, flying in forbidden machina? Sounds foolish, doesn't it? I'm not sure I want to be a summoner anymore. If I fulfill the destiny of a summoner, I'll die. Maybe the destiny of a summoner isn't my destiny. Maybe I'm not meant to follow Yevon. I have nothing to prove anymore. My parents and Suku were crushed by Sin. I believe in another summoner, now. Yuna will defeat Sin. I can't handle the pressure.  
  
I'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationale  
  
But here you are with your faith  
  
And your Peter Pan advice  
  
You have no scars on your face  
  
And you cannot handle pressure  
  
Pressure, pressure  
  
One, two, three, four  
  
Pressure  
  
~OWARI~ 


End file.
